Parade of Homes kicks off Thursday

February 13, 2013

If you're looking for a new home, and with the housing market making a resurgence, this may be the event you've been waiting for.

The Lee Building Industry Association's 2013 Parade of Homes is one of the area's most anticipated real estate events of the year and will offer residents and visitors the opportunity to view 61 decorated model homes throughout the area, all at once.

That's a far cry from in 2010, when it appeared there wouldn't be a parade.

Of those model homes, 23 are in Cape Coral in areas such as Cape Royal and Sandoval, according to Valerie Whitaker, marketing coordinator of the Lee BIA.

"There will also be homes from independent builders all throughout Cape Coral," Whitaker said.

The 27th annual event will begin Thursday and continue through March 3.

The idea of the event is to drive traffic into the model homes and help the builders get contracts signed, Whitaker said, and it has grown steadily over the past few years after the housing collapse.

"Last year we had 42 homes, the year before we had 32, and the year before that we had 12. It's definitely more attendance for the builders and more people coming through," Whitaker said.

She said that at one of the model homes, they counted about 150 groups, such as families, which came in to look around, though she added there is no scientific way of knowing an average for the group.

These homes are for all income groups, from single-family homes to multi-family and condos. She said they have higher-end homes in Cape Harbour , as well as the smaller homes from independent builders in the area.

The homes will be open Thursdays through Sundays. On Thursdays through Saturdays, the parade will run from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to all models is free.

The Lee BIA is comprised of approximately 320 companies involved in every aspect of building homes and creating a thriving community for Southwest Florida. It serves its members and advances the building profession through a community of knowledge, sharing and education, according to its mission statement.